IX Congress of the
Association of Space Explorers
Vienna, Austria
October 10-17, 1993

Eighty-one space
explorers from sixteen nations gathered October 10-17,
1993 at the 9th ASE Planetary Congress in Vienna,
Austria, the largest assembly of its kind ever outside
the United States or Russia. The participants discussed
topics in a variety of areas, the primary focus being the
Congress theme, "Space for Life." Additional
sessions included a technical session devoted to space
program updates, a special session on Space and the
Environment, and an open ended member forum. ASE
presented its Crystal Helmet Planetary Award to Professor
Sir Hermann Bondi for his many years of service to the
advancement of international space research, particularly
as founding director of the European Space Research
Organization, the precursor to the European Space Agency.
Austrian ASE member Franz Viehbock, with the assistance
of his wife, Vesna, Dr. Johannes Ortner and his Austrian
Space Agency, and a group of able volunteers organized
the event.

At the opening
ceremony, Viehbock introduced the members present and
noted the recent passing of members Deke Slayton and Karl
Henize. Among those welcoming the members at the ceremony
were Mr. Ernst Gabbmann, a representative of the Governor
of Lower Austria, Mr. Raoul Kneucker, a representative of
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Erhard Busek, and Dr. Ortner.
Professor Bondi made his keynote presentation at the
Opening Ceremony as well, noting that international
cooperation built upon personal contacts is essential in
addressing today's global challenges. He also cited the
contributions that space exploration has made to the
understanding of life at both the biomedical and global
ecological levels, and thanked the members for the
contributions they and their profession had made in these
regards.

At the "Space for
Life" theme session chaired by John Fabian, members
heard the remarks of Drs. Arnauld Nicogossian, Oleg
Gazenko, Heinz Oser and Oleg Atkov. Dr.Gazenko presented
a history of the development of the medical sciences and
their application to various types of exploration from
antiquity through the space age. Dr. Nicogossian
described many of the physical changes that the human
body undergoes in space. He called for increased
international cooperation to achieve standardization and
integration of information, hardware, procedures and
operations connected with human spaceflight to more
effectively resolve its associated biomedical challenges.
Dr. Oser reported on the results of ESA's activities in
the space life sciences. Concluding the session, ASE
member Dr. Atkov described the range of opportunities for
advancement in medicine offered by life science
activities in space.

At the space program update
session, Jerry Ross, Vladimir Solovyov and Wubbo Ockels
reported to the members on the programs of NASA, the
Russian Space Agency, and ESA, respectively. Ross
provided overviews of the eight U.S. Shuttle missions
since the last Congress. Solovyov summarized the past
year of Mir station activity with video accompaniment.
Ockels presented his view of the strategic choices and
program scenarios that the European Space Agency is
currently considering for the future. At the Space and
the Environment session chaired by Oleg Makarov, Viktor
Savinykh discussed the generation of orbital debris,
reporting that space debris is increasing at an alarming
rate in orbits that could pose threats for spacecraft
crews unless this proliferation is controlled. Alexander
Poleschuk discussed his recent mission on the Mir station
using video taped on orbit. Mary Cleave presented a brief
review of the planned Mission to Planet Earth, using
hand-held spaceflight photography to review the
contributions that crews have made in documenting earth
science phenomena.

At the member forum, the
discussion ranged from the challenges that members have
been encountered in working with foreign space programs
to what ASE might do as an organization to make more of a
difference at the international level in the areas it
feels are most important. The latter discussion resulted
in the establishment of four international ASE standing
committees: Policy, Liaison and Public Relations; Crew
Safety and Technical Support; Ecology; and Development
and Financial Support. In organizational matters, ASE
members re-elected Jon McBride and Wubbo Ockels to the
international executive committee and elected Alexei
Leonov to succeed Oleg Makarov. The members also approved
an amendment to the ASE charter that grants executive
committee membership to the presidents of recognized
national and regional ASE committees, as well as to hosts
of upcoming ASE Congresses. Finally, ASE-Russia confirmed
plans to host the 10th ASE Congress in 1994 in Moscow and
on Lake Baikal.

In an evening meeting with the
Austrian Chamber of Commerce, members engaged in a
spirited discussion as to how best to re-ignite public
support for human space exploration, calling for stepped
up attention to the question throughout national
education systems. On the Congress community day, members
fanned out across Austria to Innsbruck, Linz, Graz as
well as through Vienna to schools and sponsoring
businesses to make presentations about their space flight
experiences. Additional outings organized by the hosts
included a reception at his palace with the President of
Austria, a boat ride on the Danube river, and visits to
two Franciscan monasteries a Viennese brewery, and the
famed Spanish Riding School.